David Gilliland walks down the runway during driver introductions before a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday, July 5, 2014.(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

David Gilliland walks through the garage area after winning the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Friday, July 4, 2014. Qualifying was shortened due to rain. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

SANTA ANA >> It would have been a lot easier and a lot less stressful for the Gilliland clan to race in North Carolina today.

Instead, NASCAR Sprint Cup racer David Gilliland; his father, 1997 NASCAR West series champion Butch and David’s son, Todd, will be racing at Irwindale Speedway.

Transplanted Southern Californian David Gilliland lives in North Carolina, near his NASCAR Sprint Cup team Front Row Motorsports’ Statesville, N.C. shop. His 14-year-old son, Todd, races a late model at nearby Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, N.C. Butch lives in Thailand, where he manages his construction business.

So why take a red-eye flight directly from Loudon, N.H., immediately after last week’s Cup race to work into the wee hours for four nights and prepare cars to race on the West Coast?

“I have race cars in my shop and we could go race,” David said. “But Irwindale is a special place for me. It has been a career-changing track for me.

“When it shut down I was really, really bummed that my son would never get a chance to race there. When it opened back up and he got old enough to race out there and he was doing well enough in his late model, we looked into it to make it happen.”

It will be the first time three generations will compete in the same race at Irwindale. They will take part in the track’s regularly scheduled 75-lap Pick Your Part Super Late Model series race, with an expanded purse of $3,000.

“This is a dream race for sure,” David said. “It will be one of the most memorable racing experiences you can have. I’m proud of it and proud that Irwindale has done a lot to make this happen.”

David, 38, who is 27th in the Cup standings, and Todd, 14, will race in Speed Wong Racing-owned cars. They arrived in Southern California late Sunday and immediately headed to the shop, where they tore apart a pair of cars and spent long hours getting them race-ready.

“We’re taking this seriously,” David said. “We’re not just showing up and hopping in the car to go driving. I’ve never liked doing that. We came straight from Loudon. That’s how serious we’re taking this.”

Butch, 56, who was in Thailand until Wednesday, will race in a car rented from Jackson Race Cars. It will be the first time he has raced a car since 2004, when he raced in Idaho.

“I raced for so long, it has got to be like riding a bicycle,” Butch said. “I don’t think it will be a problem. It will be a lot of fun racing with the guys again.”

The seed for the feat was firmly planted last March when Gilliland was at Irwindale to watch the NASCAR West race on the night before the Sprint Cup’s Auto Club 400 at Fontana’s Auto Club Speedway.

Butch and David have been in the same race together, but David and Todd have not raced together.

“I’ve wanted in the last five to 10 years to race against David and hadn’t had the chance,” Butch said. “Now that Todd has graduated up to this, now to race both is even more special.”

Todd was last at Irwindale as a toddler and has no recollection of his visits. His first was when he was three weeks old and his father was in the winner’s circle after earning his first asphalt victory in a Super Late Model car on June 10, 2000. Todd began racing Late Model cars this year and scored his first victory on May 2 at Ace.

“It’s unreal,” Todd said. “Going against my dad and my grandpa is a dream come true. I’m super excited. My dad has told me a lot of great stories about Irwindale. And going against my grandpa? I’ve never even seen him race. It will be crazy.”

David has won 11 races at Irwindale and considers the June 8, 2002 NASCAR Southwest series race, his first in the now-defunct series, as one of the biggest victories in his career.

“I had sold my Late Model car, bought two Southwest Tour cars with borrowed money and had engine trouble the first three races,” he recalled. “The fourth race was at Irwindale and we won. I had to sell the team because I was out of money. But winning that race gave me the opportunity to drive for Rich Fountain.”

Butch won the ’97 West title with David as his crew chief. David, who moved from the Riverside family home to Chino Hills, started racing at Irwindale in 2000 and won six Late Model races. David won both Southwest races in 2003 and eventually joined the Cup series in ’06.

He races for Bob Jenkins’ two-car Front Row team. David Ragan is his teammate.

“We race within our means,” David said. “Which means we’re racing next year. We know that it will take time. I’m very proud of being a part in building that team. We’re not getting the satisfaction of going to the race track and getting wins every week, although I’d like to hope to do that some day. Right now my satisfaction is helping grow the team and helping to grow the organization.”

The team has fewer workers than some teams have for just one car. Gilliland, who has raced for Front Row for five seasons, has a career-best second-place finish with the team. He scored his first pole in the July 6 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway and has a best finish of 20th this season.

“Things are getting better, but it takes time,” he said. “Our resources and with our budget it takes longer. We’re up against it and we know it. As a competitor and as a racer it definitely gets frustrating. But we know what we’re up against.”

David said he wanted to return to Irwindale so family members and longtime friends can see all three race at once. He also said he wanted to give back to Irwindale.

“It helps give back a little bit,” he said. “Irwindale Speedway has been so good to me and I really really appreciate what they’re doing. Everyone there is working so hard to making this still happen.

“A lot of people have stepped up to make this dream come true.”

It won’t be a drive in the park, either.

“I expect some good hard racing,” Todd said “Hopefully it will be clean until the last couple of laps.”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.